The Odd Couple Out
by Sir Perfluous
Summary: When the Rangers drag Kendall out for a night of fun at the annual Dinosaur Carnival, she gets a reminder that she has a caring friend and together, the two of them can make a pretty good team.


**A/N:**  
 **This one shot takes place sometime after Dino Charge episode 8, and may also make a few passing references to my other Dino Charge fics. That said, I do not own Power Rangers, its characters, or any of its related intellectual property. I'm just a humble fan trying his best to salute the show.**

* * *

Shelby Watkins hummed a cheerful tune to herself and grinned as she made her way back into the food court of the Amber Beach Museum. It was a late Saturday afternoon and the Rangers had just finished work, calling it quits for the day. As she strolled through the cafeteria entrance, she saw her fellow Rangers all preoccupied with their own activities. In the far corner, Riley sat at a table with Koda, trying to teach the caveman how to play a game of checkers while Chase sat in between them, offering hints to Koda when Riley wasn't looking.

Further off, at another table, Shelby spotted Tyler Navarro busily scribbling notes in his journal, oblivious to the noise from his other rowdy teammates. Shelby's smile grew even wider as she cheerfully plopped down on a bench in front of the Red Ranger. "Hi Tyler!"

Tyler looked up from his work and gave the Pink Ranger his trademark grin, "Hey Shelby! We just closed up. You want me to give you a lift home today?"

Shelby gave a coy smile and reached into her back pocket, "Well, not exactly. I actually had a different plan in mind."

Tyler tilted his head in interest as Shelby produced a colorful flyer and handed it to him. "Every year there's an annual dinosaur themed carnival that comes to Amber Beach, and if you don't have any plans tonight, I was thinking it might be fun if we could... uh, you know... go to it... together."

Tyler glanced at the flyer for a moment, then back to Shelby with a look of boyish excitement. "Shelby, that's a great idea! Let me see if the others are up for going too!"

"Wait!" Shelby called after Tyler as he ran across the room to tell the other Rangers, "When I said _we_ , what I meant was for you and me to... oh forget it."

Shelby gave a deep sigh and forced a smile as she saw Tyler tell the other boys and turn back to her with an enthusiastic thumbs up. Maybe she could still make this work out, Shelby thought to herself gloomily... maybe.

* * *

Later that day, after cleaning up and changing into more casual clothes, the Rangers all gathered in their cave to head out to the carnival, all looking forward to their night out. "This is going to be so awesome!" Tyler cheered excitedly, "I think we should hit the roller coasters, or maybe the fun house? No, maybe the games? Argh! I can't decide!"

Shelby sighed and muttered quietly under her breath as she took him by the wrist, dragging him out toward the jeep in the garage. As the other Rangers began to follow them out, Chase stopped a moment in surprise as he turned to see Kendall enter from a side hallway and sit down at her work station with her laptop.

"Hey Kendall!" he called ambling over, "Didn't Riley tell you we were all planning to go out tonight?"

"Yes, he did." she replied looking up from her computer for a moment, "I hope you all have fun."

Chase cocked his eyebrow and sat down in front of her at her desk, "Listen, I know you've been feeling a little down about losing the E-tracer recently, but you do know tonight's invitation was extended to you too, right?"

Kendall glanced at him for a moment and evasively began typing at her laptop again, "I'm sorry Chase. Carnivals... really aren't my thing."

"It's a dinosaur carnival," he pointed out, "that sounds right up your alley to me."

"That may be," she replied patiently, "but I just don't want to go."

"I see..." he said with a mocking grin, "You're scared of the carnies. I don't blame you then."

Kendall pursed her lips and frowned, "No! I am not scared of the... carnies! Listen, will you just leave me alone? I still have some work to do here tonight."

"And now you don't." Chase childishly answered, flipping her laptop closed.

"Chase! What are you doing?" she exclaimed indignantly standing up and removing her glasses.

"Looking out for my friend." he replied rising up to challenge her. "Listen Kendall, between keeping this place running and fighting off Sledge's goons, everyone here could use a night off, including you. When's the last time you've gone out with all of us... or just gone out at all?"

Kendall furrowed her brow and muttered quietly, "I haven't."

"Exactly," Chase said gently extending a hand to his friend, "Come on, a little time off won't kill you. We'll have fun tonight. I promise."

"Chase! Let's go!" he heard Shelby's voice echo impatiently from the caves outside, "What the heck is taking you so long?"

Kendall glanced at her workstation, then back to her friend who fixed her with an expectant look. Chase grinned as he saw Kendall finally give a sigh and nod while she grabbed a slightly less dressy purple blazer from the coat rack.

"Make some room Shelby!" he called, "The gang's all here!"

* * *

After a short drive from the museum, the Rangers finally made it to the seaside city's main boardwalk where the carnival had set up for the week. Bright colorful lights lit up the early evening fair grounds as a cool comfortable breeze blew in from over the water. As the Rangers piled out of the jeep and entered the carnival grounds, they were all awed by all the sights, sounds, and smells from the attractions. As they made their way through the crowd, Shelby scanned the area and caught sight of a large roller coaster shaped like a giant brachiosaurus.

"Come on Tyler!" she called grabbing Tyler's hand and quickly pulling him away from the others, "That looks exciting! Let's go for a ride!"

Riley crossed his arms and shook his head with a laugh, "Well, I guess I know when we should take a hint." Turning to the others, he began to speak when his stomach growled loudly, "And it sounds like my stomach agrees. Who's up for some corn dogs and funnel cake?"

Koda's hand shot up excitedly before anyone else could react.

"All right then big guy," Riley chuckled as he began to lead Koda away toward to the food stands. "Let's get some grub."

Meanwhile, Chase stopped and blinked in amazement at how quickly his entire group of friends had disappeared to pursue their own romantic agendas or stuff their faces. Beside him, Kendall seemed equally shocked and at a loss as to what to do now. The two friends briefly exchanged a puzzled look and an awkward silence before Chase finally cleared his throat. "Well Kendall, I did promise you that you'd have a good time tonight, so that's what I'm going to do."

Kendall shook her head as they began walking, "That's ok Chase, you really don't have to..."

"No," he said cutting her off, "This was my idea, so I'm taking responsibility. Now come on, let's take a little walk and have a look around, yeah?"

After taking a brief stroll down the main strip and navigating through some packs of screaming children, the two friends decided to sit down for a while on a bench and admire the colorful lights of the central ferris wheel adorned with dinosaur decorations. As Chase returned from a nearby food vendor with two cans of soda, he sat down on the bench and handed one of them to Kendall.

"Thanks," she said in surprise, "but you didn't have to get mine too."

"Of course I do," he replied gallantly, "The man should always pay for the lady, you know."

"It's not like we're on a date here." Kendall retorted with a gentle eye roll as she opened her soda can.

"True enough," Chase replied with a playful wink, "but all the other people here don't have to know that."

She simply gave an amused huff and shook her head as the two leaned back in their seats to admire the lights. Despite their idle chit chat earlier, Kendall had remained unusually quiet that evening and Chase began feeling a little guilty for having dragged her out against her wishes.

"Umm... the lights look really pretty tonight, don't they?" he asked lamely, trying to find a way to keep her talking.

"Yeah, I guess so." she replied with a noncommittal shrug while taking another sip from her soda.

After a long pause, Chase frowned, "You were right. You really don't like going to these fairs, do you?"

"I'm sorry?" she said turning to him surprise.

"Kendall, I feel bad enough about dragging you out tonight," Chase began, "and I'm really trying to make it up to you. So short of me sticking my foot in a bucket again, you're going to have to help me out here because I don't know what's going on in your head. Seriously, what's the deal with you tonight?"

Kendall made an apologetic face and evasively glanced down at her soda, "I'm sorry Chase. I know you're trying to be a good friend, and I appreciate it... I really do. It's just... coming to this particular carnival every year is something that I've been trying to avoid for a while."

"What? Why?" he asked in surprise.

Kendall shook her head and grimaced to herself, "I... well, it's kinda personal."

"I'm your friend Kendall," he reminded her gently, "You can trust me, remember?"

She looked at him for a long moment, deciding whether or not to speak before giving a nod and letting go of a sigh. Turning toward the lights of the ferris wheel, she said wistfully, "When I was a little girl, my father would take me to this Dinosaur Carnival every year. I loved going to see all the dinosaur attractions... but most of all, I enjoyed going because it was something special that just my dad and I did together."

Chase nodded as he looked out toward the ferris wheel too, "What changed?"

Kendall wrinkled her nose, "I never told any of you this, but my dad died when I was still young. After that, going to this carnival was always more of a cruel reminder of what I was missing. To think, an event where kids are supposed to be happy, and it always made me sad instead."

Chase turned to her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I'm so sorry Kendall. I had no idea. But I really wish you would have said something. If I had known it would upset you, I never would have pushed you to come here in the first place."

She shrugged, "Don't blame yourself. Coming here tonight was still my choice."

"Then why did you?" he asked curiously.

"Because you're my friend... and I trust you." she replied in a small voice.

Chase turned to her in surprise, as she continued, "In a way, you had a point about all of us needing to relax and blow off some steam every once in a while. You got me thinking that with all of us here, maybe the carnival could be a little different this year."

"Well, I'm not about to break my promise tonight." he said thoughtfully as they continued to people watch. "What was your favorite activity to do with your dad here?"

Kendall adjusted her glasses, the hint of a smile on her lips, "You know, one of my fondest memories was of him trying once every year to win me one of those big stuffed animal prizes from the game booths. He'd rarely win, but I didn't care. It was just the thought that mattered to me. Kinda stupid huh?"

"Not at all." Chase answered as he scanned the nearby area and spotted a particular booth. "Come on!" he said with a grin as he grabbed Kendall's hand and  
pulled her to her feet. "I just got a great idea."

* * *

Across the fair grounds, the two friends finally came to a shooting gallery game booth. As they approached, they saw several frustrated people holding dinosaur shaped pellet guns and shooting at red target stars on strips of paper.

"Step right up and try your luck!" called the carnival worker from the booth. "Shoot out the red star completely and win a great prize!"

Chase reached in his pocket and confidently stepped up to the line, slapping some money on the table amid Kendall's sudden protests.

"You must be feeling really lucky today son." the chubby carnival worker said with a smug grin. "No one has won this game all week."

"Well, there's a first time for everything." Chase answered readying his gun and looking it over as his target was set up. Turning to Kendall, he quipped, "It isn't a dino morpher, but I guess it'll have to do."

"Come on Chase. You really don't have to do this." she answered suddenly feeling a little self conscious.

He shook his head and gave a wink as he fixed his sights on the target and fired the gun. Kendall watched as the first several sprays of pellet shots hit the red star just off of center while Chase frowned and shifted his arm slightly. To her surprise, he squeezed off a few more shots before turning his aim abruptly from the star and expending the rest of his ammo at the corner of the paper.

"Aww, too bad kid." the carnival worker chortled with a smirk as he took the gun back."With shooting like that, I'm not surprised your girlfriend looks so disappointed."

"She's not my girlfriend!" / "I'm not his girlfriend!" they both shot back in unison, making the worker laugh even harder.

"Come on Kendall, let's go." Chase grumbled turning away from the booth and walking away.

"Chase! Wait a minute!" Kendall called hurrying to catch up with him. "What happened back there?"

He turned to her and answered with a low voice, "The game was rigged. The balance of the guns were off and the targeting sight is slightly off center. It's no wonder that nobody has won that game."

Kendall pursed her lips in deep thought for a moment before she began to smirk, "Until now, maybe. I think I know how we can show that booth worker up."

"Really? How?" Chase asked curiously.

"Well..." Kendall began thoughtfully, "The object of the game is to shoot out the red star from the paper completely, right? So what if you don't actually aim for the star? What if you shoot out a circle around the star so that it still falls off the paper? You still fulfill the win conditions."

"And win by a technicality." Chase smiled in sudden understanding. "Kendall, that's brilliant! Come on, let's make that guy eat his words."

As the pair approached the booth again, the carnival worker smiled, "Back for more, eh? I hope I didn't hurt your feelings too much."

Chase paid for another round and picked up a loaded pellet gun, "The only thing that's going to get hurt is your pride, mate."

As he prepared to take aim at the target again, Chase stopped and lowered the gun. To Kendall's complete surprise, he turned to her and put the pellet gun in her hands.

"Hey, hold on a minute," she balked trying to push it back to him, "I can't do this."

"Sure you can," he insisted. "You came up with the strategy, and I'll be here to back you up."

Kendall nodded hesitantly and took the gun. As she took aim, Chase stood close and reached around her shoulders, guiding her weapon arm with his. "You're tense. Ease up and keep your arm straight."

For a moment, the two turned and glanced at each other, suddenly realizing how close they were standing together. Sensing Kendall's momentary hesitation, he turned his eyes back toward the target and said seriously. "You trust me, right?"

"Of course." she answered, taking a breath to compose herself.

"Then let's win this one... together."

Before the booth worker could make another sarcastic comment, Kendall squeezed the trigger of the gun. With Chase's help to steady her aim, the two quickly shot out a clean circle around the printed star and watched as it floated down to the ground.

The booth worker stood speechless in surprised outrage as Kendall gave an uncharacteristic cheer and turned to hug Chase, before stopping herself. For a brief moment, the two friends exchanged awkward smiles before deciding to save face and settle on shaking hands.

"What the heck do you think you two are playing at?" the booth worker interrupted, picking up the fallen paper star.

"Beating you at your game, mate." Chase replied crossing his arms proudly, "Now, I think this is the part where you give the lady her prize."

The booth worker grumbled and stepped aside, "Oh all right. What'll it be, miss?"

Kendall took a moment to examine the plush stuffed toys on display and suddenly fixed her eyes on a large purple plesiosaur. Exchanging a knowing look with Chase, Kendall pointed her finger and gave a big smile, "I think I'll be taking that one."

* * *

Later that night, the Rangers returned home from their outing, feeling tired but in generally good spirits. Koda and Riley were the first ones out of the jeep, holding their stomachs and moaning about having gone a little overboard with the cotton candy. As they walked off toward the secret entrance of the Rangers' cave, Tyler gave a wave to Chase and Kendall as he prepared to drive Shelby home. From where she was sitting in the jeep's passenger side, the Pink Ranger looked like a nervous wreck and tried to keep her hand from trembling as she waved goodbye too, silently cursing herself for following Tyler on every single scary ride at the carnival... twice.

As they drove off, Chase walked Kendall back to their apartment complex a few blocks away from the museum.

"I'm not sure which is funnier," Kendall remarked as they neared her door, "Tyler's obliviousness, or Shelby's obvious crush on him."

Chase gave a laugh and sighed dramatically. "At least she had the right idea tonight. To think, I could have made my rounds at the carnival and picked up a bunch of numbers from all the cute girls there."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't!" Kendall replied contentedly giving her big stuffed plesiosaur a squeeze. "Otherwise, I would have walked away empty handed tonight."

Chase glanced at his friend and caught her playing with the fins of the dinosaur. He couldn't help but smile quietly thinking that she looked like a happy little kid again for a just a brief moment.

As they reached Kendall's door, Chase gave the toy plesiosaur a little pat on the head and said, "You know, all things considered, I'd say this outing went pretty well and winning this little guy got me thinking that we made a pretty good team tonight, didn't we?"

"Yeah... we did." Kendall answered looking to him, then smiling at her prize thoughtfully.

"Well, it's getting late. I should get going now." Chase said after a long pause. Turning, he began to walk back toward his own apartment. To his surprise, Kendall quickly caught his sleeve and reached up, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks again for everything Chase." she said quietly, "I do feel a lot better now, and I... I had a lot of fun tonight too."

He stood in complete surprise as she gave a sheepish smile, then quickly retreated back into her apartment for the night.

"You're welcome." he nodded to her door quietly before heading home.

Whatever happened just now had been... a little unexpected, he thought to himself, but not necessarily unwelcome either. Chase simply shrugged and continued to walk back to his own place with a small smile of his own. He had meant what he said about the two of them making a great duo, however unlikely their odd couple appearance seemed. Whatever way their relationship would develop in the future, for now, he would be content with being there for Kendall as her coworker, her protector, and most importantly, her trusted friend.

* * *

 **A/N: And before anyone asks... yes. I definitely ship those two.**


End file.
